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Using Spray Paint on Plastic Models

This is a very basic tutorial on using spray paint (aka a rattle can) on a plastic model.

I tried it for the first time on a 1:35 scale Patton Tank model. It's an easy project and an easy model. And the spray paint came out terrific. We will take a look at it and I will give you some guidelines for how to do it.

This spray paint tutorial comes from my tutorial on making a Patton tank. You can check out that full tutorial here:

Make a Patton Tank Plastic Model

Fun and easy plastic model build. 1:35 scale so it is a good size and easy to handle. Easily done in a few hours and an inexpensive model. One of the more popular ones made by Revell. Tutorial includes a video. Make a Patton Tank Plastic Model

About Spray painting plastic model parts:

Here are some rules of thumb. (You should watch the video below).

The most important thing is to apply an even coat. And the biggest risk of overpainting is when you start and stop the nozzle spray.

First do a test spray off of the parts. This will clear the nozzle, make the stream more uniform and give you a feel for the spray.

Start the spray off the part.

With a smooth and quick motion pass over the part and finish the spray past it. Don't let go the button until you are past the part.

Continue this in smooth motions always starting and stopping the spray off the part.

Leave the parts on the sprue!

If possible you should leave as many of the parts on the sprue as you possibly can. This will make it much easier to handle them and easier to identify them. If you start removing all kinds of parts you might confuse them and it will be come difficult to assemble the model.

You can do this by removing a few of the parts that don't need painting or by masking those parts off with masking tape.

Some Spray paints may damage the plastic!

I use krylon fusion paint which states right on it that it is safe for plastic.

The video is here. If you click play it will start at the correct point in the video where I am doing the spray painting.

Want an inexpensive home made spray booth?

Make a cheap and easy spray booth for painting your miniatures and models